Architecture Decision Records
23 ADRs | Design rationale | Evolution timeline
This catalog documents the architectural decisions that shape the OSDU SPI Fork Management system. Each Architecture Decision Record (ADR) captures the context, decision, and consequences of significant design choices that enable automated management of long-lived upstream forks.
Decision Categories
Core Architecture
Foundation decisions that define the system's structure and approach:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Three-Branch Strategy | Critical | Accepted |
| 002 | GitHub Actions Automation | Critical | Accepted |
| 003 | Template Repository Pattern | Critical | Accepted |
| 005 | Conflict Management Strategy | Critical | Accepted |
Workflow Design
Decisions governing workflow behavior and integration patterns:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 006 | Two-Workflow Initialization | High | Accepted |
| 014 | AI-Enhanced Workflows | High | Accepted |
| 019 | Cascade Monitor Pattern | High | Accepted |
| 020 | Human-Required Labels | High | Accepted |
| 023 | Meta Commit Strategy | High | Accepted |
Implementation Details
Technical implementation and optimization decisions:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 008 | Centralized Label Management | Medium | Accepted |
| 009 | Asymmetric Cascade Review | Medium | Accepted |
| 010 | YAML-Safe Shell Scripting | Medium | Accepted |
| 013 | Reusable GitHub Actions | Medium | Accepted |
| 015 | Template-Workflows Separation | Medium | Accepted |
| 021 | Pull Request Target Pattern | Medium | Accepted |
| 022 | Issue Lifecycle Tracking | Medium | Accepted |
Template Management
Decisions for template updates and synchronization:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 011 | Configuration-Driven Sync | High | Accepted |
| 012 | Template Update Propagation | High | Accepted |
| 018 | Fork-Resources Staging | Medium | Accepted |
Release Management
Version management and release automation decisions:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 004 | Release Please Versioning | High | Accepted |
Security & Operations
Security, monitoring, and operational decisions:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 016 | Initialization Security | Medium | Accepted |
| 017 | MCP Server Integration | Medium | Accepted |
Development Process
Development workflow and bootstrap decisions:
| ADR | Decision | Impact | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 007 | Workflow Bootstrap Pattern | Medium | Proposed |
Decision Timeline
2025 Evolution
May 2025 - Foundation Phase - ADR-001 through ADR-006: Core architecture and workflow patterns established - Three-branch strategy and GitHub Actions automation chosen - Two-workflow initialization pattern for improved UX
June 2025 - Enhancement Phase - ADR-008 through ADR-015: Implementation optimizations and AI integration - Centralized label management and reusable actions - AI-enhanced workflows with multi-provider support
June 2025 - Reliability Phase - ADR-019 through ADR-023: Monitoring and reliability improvements - Cascade monitor pattern for robust triggering - Meta commit strategy for Release Please integration
January 2025 - Security & Integration Phase - ADR-016 through ADR-018: Security handling and MCP integration - Fork-resources staging pattern for specialized deployment
Quick Reference Guide
Key Architectural Principles
Three-Branch Safety: All changes flow through fork_upstream → fork_integration → main with validation at each stage.
Human-Centric Automation: Automation enhances human workflows rather than replacing human judgment, with clear escalation paths.
AI Enhancement: AI capabilities improve workflow quality while maintaining reliable fallback mechanisms.
Template Pattern: Repository templates enable consistent deployment with automated updates and configuration.
Common Decision Patterns
Event-Driven Architecture: Workflows trigger based on GitHub events with monitoring for missed triggers.
Label-Based State Management: GitHub labels provide machine-readable state with human-friendly interfaces.
Multi-Provider Resilience: Critical integrations support multiple providers to prevent single points of failure.
Configuration-Driven Behavior: JSON configuration files control workflow behavior without code changes.
Impact Assessment
Critical Decisions: Fundamental to system operation - changes require careful migration planning.
High Impact: Significant workflow effects - changes affect multiple components.
Medium Impact: Localized improvements - changes have bounded effects.
Using This Catalog
Finding Relevant ADRs
By Problem Area: Use the category sections above to find decisions related to specific system areas.
By Timeline: Review the evolution timeline to understand how decisions built upon each other.
By Impact: Focus on Critical and High Impact decisions for understanding core system behavior.
Cross-References
Most ADRs reference related decisions - follow these links to understand the full context of architectural choices.
Staying Current
ADRs are living documents that may be superseded by new decisions. Check the status field and look for newer ADRs that reference older ones.
These architectural decisions collectively enable the automated management of OSDU SPI forks while maintaining reliability, security, and team productivity.